Cider Car Cocktail

As the snow fell and piled up during the now infamous blizzard of December ‘09, I stayed in the kitchen baking cookies and getting ready for Christmas with a mug of hot cider in hand. We like it spiked with spiced rum or cinnamon schnapps with a stick of cinnamon in the mug, but this hot cider cocktail is a variation on the classic sidecar cocktail and has apple brandy and triple sec. The orange flavor from the triple sec works well with the cider and we agreed the cinnamon sugar rimmer is perfect, though we used an orange wedge rather than lime to rim the mug. For a nonalcoholic variation, just add an ounce of orange juice to the hot cider. Read more

Gingerbread Scones

With wide eyes and a booming voice, Top Gun shouted, “Mommy, are you making stones? I love those!”

Our boys adore scones (even if they still can’t say it) and with all the excitement in the kitchen you would think some fabulous dessert was in the works instead of simple gingerbread scones for breakfast. After the scones had cooled a little I arranged them on the plate, leaving one for the boys to share while I quickly took a few photos. The flavor of these is such a delight that there wasn’t a single crumb left after breakfast and Michael asked me to make a double batch next time. Read more

Stuffed Pizza with Spinach and Chanterelles

Around this time last year I received an email from Susan (Farmgirl Fare) telling me that I had won a box of fresh chanterelle mushrooms from Marx Foods in her giveaway. Once I recovered from the happy shock of winning two pounds of chanterelle mushroom I eagerly anticipated their arrival. When the box arrived at our door I was giddy with excitement. I don’t get giddy over too many things, but I was giddy over these chanterelles. Read more

Gingerbread Christmas Tree

Making gingerbread houses is a father-son event in our home, with the boys crowded around the table as Michael assembles the house, a task that is not always easy. Some years the walls fall over and we’ve even resorted to using a glue gun to make the walls stand up. Each boy has a mini muffin tin filled with little candies in each cup that they put on the house. Some years the boys cooperate and the effort is pretty organized, but certainly not every year. Someone usually bumps into the house or spills the candy decorations or sticks their fingers where they don’t belong, but in the end that’s all part of the fun. Read more

Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

We did it. I can’t believe it’s true, but we planted two pecan trees in our yard. We spotted them at Lowe’s in late September and selected a Sumner Pecan and a Stuart Pecan. We are slightly north of the growing zone for the Sumner, but our area has mild winters so it should do well. Pecan trees need another variety nearby to produce, and we planted these within 30 feet of each other. They got a little dry at one point and we were worried we might lose them, but it looks like they have taken to their new home. They don’t look like much right now, just a couple sticks about five feet (152 cm) tall since they lost their leaves, but they are full of promise, I can feel it. We have hopeful visions of harvesting pounds and pounds of pecans in about eight years. Yes it will be a long wait, but if the trees produce then my dream to grow our own pecans will be fulfilled. Read more

Whole Wheat Pie Dough

Though we’ve had a few detours along the way, we remain committed to our resolution to use more whole grains in our baking, and pie dough was next on the list to change. I’ve tried a number of whole wheat pie dough recipes, and this is one of my favorites. The good folks at King Arthur Flour published Whole Grain Baking in 2006 and for their efforts they received a James Beard Foundation award nomination. I bought the book this year as we embarked on our quest to finally change to whole grain baking and it has been an invaluable reference.

As they tested pies and doughs, the authors decided that different pies call for different pie crusts, and they experimented with traditional whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, barley flour, and oats. Some of the doughs have a mixture of whole grains and a few have a small amount of white flour. This whole wheat pie dough has no white flour and no other grains; the whole wheat flour stands on its own. Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »